Heard this jam while I was unloading trucks at Marshall’s last September and have been rocking to it ever since. Hockey has a very cool “Do It Yourself” story of receiving airplay; the Portland, Oregon-group self-produced their EP Mind Chaos in 2008 and received attention from Radio 1 DJs. They went on to perform at Bonnaroo and Glastonbury in 2009 and were inked to a deal with Capital Records in the US and Virgin Records in the UK. Hockey’s music is pretty straightforward; infectious pop music with big hooks, a hint of lower-fi production, and toe-tapping jams.
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I love this video.
Dom Brown’s second home run as remembered by Long Drive of the Fightins.
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My favorite track of the album that strapped a rocket to AC/DC‘s rock and roll dreams and took them into the stratosphere, Highway to Hell, “If You Want Blood” features Bon Scott in fine screeching form and Angus Young delivering a great solo. Thing to keep an out for in the video: Angus Young keeps perfect time with his head the entire time.
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One of my guilty pleasure songs is “The Lion Sleeps Tonight“, originally written by South African Zulu musician Solomon Linda in 1939, turned into a US Billboard No. 1 by The Tokens in 1961, and turned into a song that reached immortality in the Disney cannon with its inclusion in the Lion King. I’m also a sucker for any early 90’s music videos that used the same production techniques Bill Nye the Science Guy’s television show and Earthworm Jim’s commercials featured. This They Might Be Giants song riffs on the classic with fun bass and brass lines and features Lauren Cantrell. It was original released on their 1992 record Apollo 18.
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Trying to keep the energy up this week with some 90’s alternative and dance hits, tossed lightly with 2000’s alternative jams. Not everything is genre specific, however. According to my iPod, here is what carried through some intense cardio and legs yesterday:
- The Guitar (The Lion Sleeps Tonight) – They Might Be Giants
- Hey Jessica – Spencer Tricker
- 16 Military Wives – The Decemberists
- Never Forget You – The Noisettes
- Anna – Jupiter One
- Barely Legal – The Strokes
- Metal Guru – T. Rex
- Borrow – Brendan Benson
- California Rain – Silvertide
- Victoria – The Kinks (previously jammed to here)
- Is That Love – Squeeze
- Itchycoo Park – Small Faces
- Another Girl, Another Planet – The Only Ones (previously jammed to here)
- Say You’ll Be There – Spice Girls
- King of Wishful Thinking – Go West
As you can gather from the music, very interesting workout yesterday. Will make some adjustments and regroup for tonight’s workout. As always, you can follow my bodybuilding progress at my BodyBuilding.com profile. Over 45 lbs. lost and kept off since January 2010!
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Shout out to T.R. Goyne over at Phour Score for posting this on his Twitter.
That’s Phillies’ 2011 first pick (39th overall) Larry Greene, standing 6’1, 230 lb., hitting an inside-the-park home run and completing his journey around the basepaths in 15.28 seconds.
Todd Zolecki believes Greene has indicated that he may bypass playing college baseball at Chipola Junior College in Marianna, Florida to sign with the Phillies. Zolecki also noted that Greene received a scholarship to play football at Alabama but has indicated he would like to play baseball.
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As I type this, the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs are up 3-0 at Charolette, with chance to extend their International League-best winning percentage to .631 and strengthen their odds at their first winning season and their first International League North Title. The Ryne Sandberg-led club is filled with capable MLB replacement-level position players like Pete Orr (covered here), John Mayberry Jr. (covered here), Ronnie Belliard, and Scott Podsednik, as well as MLB replacement-level pitching like Brian Bass and Penn State product Nate Bump. The Pigs find themselves with a trio of players who will likely see time with the Phils in some capacity in the next year or two: 6’8 reliever Mike Schwimer, 26 year old starting pitcher Drew Carpenter, and fan favorite Vance Worley. There are also some interesting projects like former top prospect Scott Mathieson and last year’s 30-year old rookie Erik Kratz, but no project player may be more interesting than tonight’s pitcher of record for Lehigh Valley, Brian Gordon.
Gordon was taken in the 1997 MLB draft in the 7th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks out of as an outfielder with plus power and a plus arm. He spent his first ten minor league seasons making a natural progression through the minor leagues, never skipping a level and never getting sent back down.
Year Age Tm Lg Lev Aff AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO 1997 18 Diamondbacks ARIZ Rk 219 27 54 18 4 4 46 8 3 9 62 .247 .272 .420 1998 19 South Bend MIDW A ARI 468 46 131 23 6 8 61 6 4 14 100 .280 .302 .406 1999 20 South Bend MIDW A ARI 184 21 39 9 3 0 17 8 3 9 35 .212 .251 .293 2000 21 High Desert CALL A+ ARI 476 98 148 26 13 12 66 19 14 47 107 .311 .371 .496 2001 22 Lancaster CALL A+ ARI 392 74 119 21 10 16 70 13 7 26 100 .304 .345 .531 2002 23 El Paso TL AA ARI 477 73 137 32 9 10 67 2 6 36 111 .287 .343 .455 2003 24 Tucson PCL AAA ARI 449 58 119 20 7 13 70 1 3 33 93 .265 .314 .428 2004 25 Salt Lake PCL AAA ANA 475 80 123 24 4 22 70 6 2 30 145 .259 .305 .465 2005 26 Salt Lake PCL AAA LAA 340 50 94 25 4 17 55 7 5 25 101 .276 .323 .524 2006 27 Round Rock PCL AAA HOU 303 48 73 21 3 16 59 1 3 28 110 .241 .310 .488 Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/6/2011.Gordon showed power in each season he played, specifically in a standout year 21 season in A+ ball at High Desert hitting .311/.371/.496 with 26 doubles, 13 triples, and 12 home runs and a 32 doubles, 9 triples, and 10 home run performance with a .287/.343/.455 triple slash in his age 23 season in his only Double A stop in El Paso in 2002. His slugging percentage remained high in his remaining years as an outfielder, never falling below .428, his first year in Triple A and averaged 17 home runs a season in four full seasons as a Triple A outfielder.
Gordon took the mound after the 2006 season, with the help of then-Houston Astros’ special advisor Nolan Ryan. The Astros were his third franchise; he started the 2007 campaign on the hill for Double A Corpus Christi and finished the year with Triple A Oklahoma. In 2008, he was released shortly after Spring Training by the Astros but quickly picked up by the Rangers.
Year Age Tm Lg Lev Aff W L G GS GF SV IP H ER HR BB SO 2008 29 3 Teams 2 Lgs AAA-AA TEX,HOU 6 5 3.51 34 11 10 3 95.0 96 37 15 20 70 1.221 6.6 3.50 2008 29 Oklahoma PCL AAA TEX 4 5 4.56 18 11 1 0 71.0 85 36 14 15 51 1.408 6.5 3.40 2008 29 Corpus Christi TL AA HOU 0 0 4.50 1 0 0 0 2.0 2 1 1 1 1 1.500 4.5 1.00 2008 29 Frisco TL AA TEX 2 0 0.00 15 0 9 3 22.0 9 0 0 4 18 0.591 7.4 4.50 Gordon pitched 22 scoreless innings for Double A Frisco, averaging a little more than a half a base-runner per inning pitched and striking out 4.5 for every batter walked. The Rangers gave him an opportunity to start in Triple A, where his WHIP rose, but K/9 and K/BB remained strong. After 12 seasons in the minor leagues, the 29-year old saw his first action in the Major Leagues:
Year Age Tm Lg W L G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF Awards 2008 29 TEX AL 0 0 2.25 3 0 0 0 0 0 4.0 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 16 214 1.000 9.0 0.0 0.0 2.3 1 Season 0 0 2.25 3 0 0 0 0 0 4.0 4 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 16 214 1.000 9.0 0.0 0.0 2.3 162 Game Avg. 0 0 2.25 68 0 0 0 0 0 91 91 23 23 0 0 0 23 0 0 0 363 214 1.000 9.0 0.0 0.0 2.3 Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 6/6/2011.Fast-forward to 2011. Gordon is now a starting pitcher for Lehigh Valley after opening the season on the disabled list in Double A Reading. According to Michael LoRe of Lehigh Valley Live, Gordon was shifted into the starting rotation for the Pigs after three relief appearances to fill the hole that Worley left when he was called-up to Philadelphia on April 29. Gordon has not relinquished his spot. Steven Gross of the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs Examiner beat relays the fact that Gordon became only the third Pig, joining Justin Lehr in 2008 and Nelson Figueroa in 2010, to win the International League Pitcher of the Week. With the completion of tonight’s game, a 3-0 victory over Charolette, Gordon earned his fifth win of the year, striking out 11 over 6 innings, giving up only 3 hits and one walk, and lowering his ERA to 0.74. Yes, 0.74.
Gordon will turn 33 on August 16 but has the benefit of logging only four and a half seasons as a pitcher on his his right arm. Gordon could be a terrific option in the event of an injury to a member of the Phillies starting rotation or bullpen, but there are a few obstacles in his way:
1.) Worley is likely the man to be called up should there be another injury to the starting rotation. Worley struggled in his last outing with the Phils but at 23, he is the youngest member of the Pigs’ starting rotation with the highest upside.
In Gordon’s favor: upper management may want to keep Worley in a regular rhythm and keep his arm stretched instead of shuttling him back and forth.
2.) If a righty member of the pen goes down, Carpenter has a shot be the next man called up. Carpenter made cameos in 2008, 2009, and 2010 for the Phils and is a former 2006 second round pick who received a sizable bonus. Carpenter made a successful transition this year in his age 26 season from starter to reliever, compiling a 2.10 ERA over 17 games with a 4.63 K/BB ratio. The other obstacles that Gordon would need to climb to claim a bullpen spot are righties Mathieson, who has made a 2011 cameo, and Schwimer, who at age 25, is in a make or break season and is excelling, posting a 1.78 ERA in Lehigh Valley in 20 games with 11.6 K/9 IP.
In Gordon’s favor: Carpenter and Mathieson have been inconsistent at best in the Majors while Scwhimer is a complete unknown in the Major Leagues.
I can’t be objective: I’m rooting for Brian Gordon to see Major League time with the Phillies in 2011. He’s far and away statistically their best starting pitcher and will continue to receive International League accolades. Time will tell if his strong performance will hold but his peripherals indicate that his improvement is for real. His K/BB in four years of Triple A ball have increased in each of the last three seasons (2.55, 4.53, 6.00), his BB/9 IP have dipped in that time period (2.3, 2.2, 1.2), and his WHIP has dropped from 1.190 to 1.179 to .797 before tonight’s game. Gordon, no doubt, will regress and the last of those numbers in each of the data sets will lower, rise, and rise in that order but he has been one of the best stories and best pitchers in the International League this season and the Phillies would be silly not to give him a serious look.
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If you are a dedicated follower of fashion, a fan of super groups, or fancy jangle-pop mixed with power pop, then you will really enjoy this one from Nick Lowe, “So It Goes“. Lowe is joined here in a clip from the Kenney Everett Video Show by on-again-off-again Rockpile band-mate Dave Edmunds in a mix of “So It Goes” that is a different mix of that that was released on his 1978 Jesus of Cool.
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This is a jam I completely missed out on the first time around. The song is “Nighttiming” off of Coconut Records‘ 2007 album of the same name. Coconut Records is actor/former Phantom Planet drummer Jason Schwartzman‘s solo project on which he plays the majority of the instruments. There was no official video but I’m digging the video put together by these fans.
